Way to the Jungle 05

Anne climbed to the higher branches of the tree. It was a big tree, she thought, and a strong one too. It wouldn’t fall even if an adult climbed on it. Thinking of that, Anne was less scared. Soon she reached the edge of the wall. Grace could see Anne’s frightened face at the another side of the wall.

Anne carefully dragged her left foot to the top of the wall. The thickness of the wall could hold just enough for a person. Standing there was just like walking along a balance beam, but if Anne fell, it could take her dear life away.

Anne pushed her right foot towards the sky-scraping balance beam. This is when she tripped and lost her balance. Grace, on the other side, had her face freezed, eyeballs locked in place, but she couldn’t make a sound.

“Help!” Anne, who was too scared to do anything but scream at that time, kicked her right foot in the air.

She nearly fell, either to Grace’s side, or back to the forest’s side, which could be a fatal fall. But no, she balanced her body and remained safe and sound on the edge, and got a chance to finally see what is happening.

Over the citywall, where the jungle gently covered the piece of furry lawn, was a vast expanse of scenery. She had tried hard but still could not see the end of the jungle. At that moment, she couldn’t believe that she had walked along the edge around the citywall. It seemed an endless route. Only for Anne being the fastest runner among the kids in the village, she could finish such a journey. But for Grace…

The image of Grace panting drew Anne back to her dearest friend. She was sorry to lead Grace chasing her for such a long way just because of her recklessness.

“Alright.” Anne interrupted. She had been wasting Grace’s time, and she didn’t want to waste anymore of it.

“I think… I can do this.” She turned suddenly brave yet calm. Grace was still wondering what she was up to. And here she was! She had jumped off the wall and was standing on her feet right in front of Grace.

“That is great,” said Grace, astonished, “…that you came over this”, trying hard to swallow the word “finally”.

“It isn’t as difficult as I thought it was.” Anne finally smiled, and so did Grace, revealing the gaps between her teeth.

Anne thought for a moment. “I could never get over it without you.”

“But, I have done nothing but standing there!”

“No, it’s hard to tell, but at that moment you were like standing beside me helping me getting over the wall.”

Grace looked at her, confused.

“It was like a kind of magic… A linkage between us.” Anne tried to find the right word to describe her feeling, but failed.